The Duomo di Siena is one of the most visually appealing cathedrals in Italy...a place where art…read moreand devotion converge in extraordinary harmony. Towering over Piazza del Duomo in Siena's historic center, the cathedral immediately commands attention with its distinctive dramatic blackandwhite striped marble façade, a color scheme that reflects the ancient symbols of the city itself. While we have seen many beautiful Italian cathedrals, this one is one of the most unique ones. Stepping inside the cathedral is awe-inspiring and completely breathtaking. Unlike many cathedrals whose beauty lies primarily on the exterior, Siena's Duomo interior is splendid and grand. The interior is lavishly decorated with striped marble columns, gilded details, sculptures, and frescoes that make the space feel more like a grand art gallery than a traditional church. While indelible photographs are forever etched in our minds, our tour guide discouraged us from taking photos inside the cathedral. One of the cathedral's greatest highlights is its marble inlaid floor, created over several centuries by dozens of artists. Often described as one of the most beautiful cathedral floors in the world, it features intricate biblical scenes and moral lessons created in marble mosaic. When you view such beauty, it feels bigger than yourself. Majestic!

We were lucky enough to see the cathedral in October when the floors were uncovered and it was…read moretruly a sight to see. Absolutely worth the visit and make sure to go to the top of the bell tower during your visit for a spectacular view and a great photo opportunity.

I have been to Siena twice. On my second trip, I visited for Palio. The day of the festivities, I…read moremade my way to Torre del Mangia to do some sightseeing. Located in Piazza del Campo, the center and heart of Siena, Torre del Mangia is one of the most prominent symbols of Siena. It's one of TripAdvisor's most popular attractions in Siena and for good reason. Snap a few pictures of the tower from the outside and then walk inside. It's free to check out the courtyard area where you'll be able to take a really cool photo of the tower from the interior. You'll know what I mean when you're there. After you're done checking out the courtyard, for a fee, you can buy a ticket to go up the tower and get some panoramic views of the city. If they happen to be sold out, you can also get some scenic views by checking out the Duomo. Torre del Mangia is a must visit while in Siena!

10/28/2013 My…read morehusband and I woke up early and went to the City Wall Tower as our first stop of the day. Good thing we went early in the morning, as we were able to get some sparkling nice views from the top. Once you climb the 330 steps to the top (the staircase is rather narrow in some areas, so they will ask you to check in your bags about 1-2 flights up). This is definitely one of the best views of Siena and Tuscany. Well worth the 8€ per person. We were able to stay at the top for a good 20-30 minutes to take some photos of the beautiful Siena landscape + look out into the hills of Tuscany. GORGEOUS!! We think the best time to go is in the morning when the sun is not out in full force, and the fog is leaving the hills...so you can get some clear photos. :) We loved our experience and definitely recommend it. We know of others who went to the top of the Duomo, so that's another option as well; but we didn't do that one since we already went to the top of the City Tower. Either way, I'm sure the views are great. :)

Santa Maria della Scala is far more than a museum.. It is located across from Siena Cathedral in…read morePiazza del Duomo, the former hospital has transformed into a sprawling cultural complex filled with art, architecture, and centuries of human stories. Rather than following a traditional museum layout, the space unfolds like a maze of grand halls, staircases, underground passages, and hidden chambers. The beautiful frescoed Pellegrinaio highlights the hospital's medieval role in caring for pilgrims and the sick, bringing scenes of compassion and community to life. Deeper below, the atmosphere shifts dramatically. Dimly lit tunnels, stone corridors, ancient cisterns, and crypt-like rooms create an immersive glimpse into the hospital's self-contained underground world. These subterranean spaces are among the museum's most fascinating features, revealing how the institution once functioned as a community. While the museum also houses Etruscan, Roman, and religious collections, the real attraction is the building itself. Its immense scale and maze-like layout can be interesting., More than viewing exhibits, visiting Santa Maria della Scala feels like walking through centuries of Siena's living memory.

An amazing example of form and function combined with art. The original hospital of Siena in use…read morefor hundreds of years and continually added to. Finally shuttered in 1995. Filled with art and galleries and churches and and and...amazing multi level complex that is a walk through the history of Siena. Don't miss out on this museum when you go to Siena.

If you are reading this, cancel or rebook with another company!…read more Worst tour company in Florence. We've booked the tour via a third party agency (Chase bank and our friends booked with TripAdvisor) and the booking happened to be with this tour company, unfortunately. The day started with us joining a marble rock quarry tour (when we booked a "best of Tuscany" tour that includes Pisa, Siena, and wine tasting). We were later ushered on to a third rate bus to unknown destination with the tour guide yelling something along the line of "San formaggio tour better anyways" (where is this land of cheese?). We've missed Pisa completely. And arrived to join a terrible lunch with three slices of salami and a plate of sad, cold penne pasta with 2 sips of wine for "tasting," if we wanted more, it was 5€ out of pocket. Our tour guide later got us to Siena and told us to skip the walking tour because it was just about art and it wasn't good anyways. At which we had 4 free hours in Siena, exciting times... not. When we finally had dinner, our tour guide left long ago, and told us we need to wait for a separate bus to fit us. We waited hours, and then more hours... then the tour company agent called us hours past the original pick up location for us to walk to an unknown place in Siena (because we obviously have a guide with us at this hour to get us to that square). Hours went by before we were half asleep and made it back to Florence. We will never book a tour with this company and we hope this review will convince you to look else where. If you've booked a tour with this company through a third party, cancel or change it to another company. The highlight of the tour was unintentionally running into a dog friend.

0 stars. I am…read moreunbelievably disappointed and irritated with this company. My cousins and I had booked this through Expedia. It's called "Treasures of Florence: Skip the line Uffizi & Accademia". The paperwork confirmation had requested we arrive no later than 10:45am to check in for the Accademia Tour. We arrived to the meeting spot at the designated time, and nobody showed up by 11:00am for our scheduled tour time. We asked the guards at the museum gate if they had seen our guide, and they assured us they hadn't seen the tour company reps yet and that they had a tendency to run late compared to the other companies. We were slightly irritated as we had ensured to arrive earlier so there would be no issue. Shortly after, the tour company called us and advised that the tour guide, Alberto, had shown up to the wrong meeting spot and was running late. We were turned off by the tardiness and the fact that the tour guide showed up to the "wrong spot" - That just seemed like an excuse as to why they weren't there on time. So the tour guide arrives at 11:15 am, 15 minutes LATER than when the tour was originally supposed to start; that means we waited out there for them for 30 minutes. Furthermore, the tour that was originally supposed to last until 12:15 according to the paperwork, and it lasted only until 11:51. Not only did the tour guide show up late, but he also left us early! Instead of a 1 hour 15 minute tour, we received one that was approximately 35 minutes - that's not even half the advertised time! The tour was brief and Alberto left us feeling like the company was lazy and didn't care about customer service - there was definitely more in the museum to see that our tour guide didn't even touch upon! Supposedly between tours, we were to take our own lunch break and then meet at another spot at a designated time for the Ufizzi tour. We ate a quick lunch to ensure we would be at the meeting spot early again. The paperwork had asked us to arrive no later than 1:40pm outside a cafe. We got there at 1:30pm and waited, and waited, and waited some more. The tour guide never showed up. It was now again 30 minutes past the time they had said we arrive "no later than" and no tour guide was to be found and no phone call to us was made. We waited for another 25 minutes before giving up. That's right, we waited almost a total of an hour for a guide who never showed up. The whole experience was frustrating. We only had limited time in Florence, and it was further shortened by the time we stood around doing nothing and not getting what was advertised or what we had paid for. We didn't even get to see Uffizi, which was something we were all really looking forward to. This definitely ruined our itinerary as this was almost a full day ticketed event that we didn't make alternative plans for as we knew we would be touring almost all day. Even the Academia guards knew the My Tour Company had a reputation for tardiness. We will not be booking with them or recommending their services again to anybody. We emailed Expedia seeking a full refund from My Tour as they failed to provide the services we were promised, and My Tour denied the refund request due to "their policy". It has nothing to do with policy. For obvious reasons, we deserve our money back for the tour you did not perform or show up for. We are surprised that Expedia would be selling tickets for a company that was so disorganized and unprofessional.